Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.

Roll Call stirred up something in Washington when it reported Thursday morning that U.S. Sen. Bob Corker swore - yes, used foul language - during a meeting with his sorta-boss, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Witnesses say Corker called "bull-" followed by a synonym for cow chips when McConnell said in a meeting that he could have cut a better deal than one brokered by U.S. Sen. John McCain to allow the confirmation of some Obama administration nominees and avert a showdown over Senate filibuster rules. The breech of politesse appeared to have been just one of many pointed exchanges within the Republican caucus over the issue.

It seemed like a bit of Washington silliness, but the story appears to have some legs. Later Thursday, Corker told reporters his remark was "unfortunate" but he was glad it happened.

Premature? Probably. But a sign of how something small can snowball in politics.

Libertarian Paul hopes to bring clarity at Nashville event

Former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, the three-time presidential hopeful and libertarian lion, is coming to Nashville next month to speak at an event sponsored by a management consulting firm.

Expectations will be high: The event is called "The Night of Clarity."

United Services & Trust Corp., the Nashville-based company putting on the event, says Paul will headline a series of lectures Aug. 23 as "some of the nation's foremost authorities diagnose the nation's economic crisis." Admission to just the lectures is $75 (or $35 for students), while a two-day package, including a "VIP dinner" and an "intimate Q & A" with the Texas Republican who left office earlier this year, will set you back $650.

Hey, no one ever said clarity comes cheap.

DNA test shows woman he tweeted not Cohen's daughter

The young woman that U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen tweeted with during this year's State of the Union address isn't his daughter after all.

CNN reported Thursday morning that DNA testing had confirmed that aspiring model Victoria Brink's father is actually the man who raised her, not the Memphis Democrat. Brink said sheepishly that it was a mistake not to have run a paternity test sooner.

Cohen initially rebuffed requests to discuss the matter - a strategy that blew up when he awkwardly told one young woman in the Congressional press corps, "You're very attractive, but I'm not talking about it."

Cohen apologized for that remark, then went on to explain that he had not asked Brink for a paternity test because he did not want her to think he didn't want to claim her as his child.

"I loved her," he told CBS News. ""For three-and-a-half years, I had a daughter, and it was nice to care about somebody and share."

Haslam goes from rising star
to sideshow in group's report

It was less than five months ago that Politico was calling Gov. Bill Haslam "the GOP star you've never heard of." So it was somewhat surprising to see Tennessee's rising star called one of the nation's worst governors in a report released last week.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - the folks who filed a medical ethics complaint against U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais - listed Haslam as one of the worst governors in the country based on his ethics and transparency practices. The group rapped Haslam for the Jones Lang LaSalle contract, putting adviser Tom Ingram on his personal payroll, his handling of the Occupy Nashville protests and signing the state's voter ID law.

CREW said Haslam's actions were suspect enough to "merit close scrutiny." It placed the Tennessee leader in its third tier of bad governors, a group it called "sideshows" in the circus of corruption.

In fairness to the governor, CREW's assessment probably ought to be taken with a grain of salt. Republicans accounted for 16 of the group's 18 malfeasants, including its worst six. That's pretty one-sided, even for the most cynical and partisan Democrat.

And then there's the activist role CREW has played in attacking DesJarlais.

But even considering CREW's slant, the report did highlight the rough spot Haslam has hit since the Politico profile ran in February. That piece touted him as a potential vice-presidential candidate, holding up a squeaky-clean image as one of his major attributes.

Haslam and his supporters would prefer to see more press like that than assessments like CREW's.

Roberts kicks off campaign

Former state Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield, said last week that he woudl have his first fundraiser Aug. 15 at the home of Raymond and Jane Knowles. Roberts also said he had launched his campaign website, www.kerryroberts.com.

Roberts served in the state legislature from March 2011 to November 2012, when his home of Robertson County was moved from the 18th Senate District to the 25th Senate District. He faces state Sen. Jim Summerville of Dickson in the Republican primary.